How to Pick the Best Web Host Company

Most company owners knows the importance of having a website that performs at a high rate at all times. Selecting the best web host company is often the most important process, yet often not prioritized. Many people assume that all web hosting is the same, which it is not.

Hosting your website on a slow server, or one that is packed with websites can drastically reduce your website’s performance. It’s better to spend the money to ensure that your website will experience constant uptime than cheap out to save a few dollars.

Know what type of web hosting you need

Understanding your business is the first and the foremost part as it can help you to narrow web hosting options. If your website receives a lot of traffic and it features streaming or is very image-rich, then you need the best possible performance.

“Your website is your online doorway, and you want to make sure that you are always there when someone is searching for you, regardless of the time of day. High-performance hosting is well worth the cost, making sure your website is always online,” says Darryl Howard of NuWays MD, a provider of coolsculpting in Boca Raton.

Choose right hosting package

Many small businesses, in order to save money will turn to shared hosting, but with smaller costs comes the bigger risks of slow response. A customer will not stay on a website if it loads slowly.

“Avoid low priced shared hosting, as you never know what other websites will be on the same server. There are often several hundred all using the same bandwidth, causing everyone to load slowly. While a dedicated server or VPS will cost more, they provide much faster speeds,” explains Dana VanDeCar, COO of Optimally Organic.

Read hosting reviews

There are a lot of hosting reviews out there, so take some time and do some research before making a decision. But, make sure that you are reading genuine reviews and not ones designed to send you through an affiliate program. Also, be aware that a lot of re-sellers exist, so a lot of companies are actually the same host company in the end.

Get the desired amount of bandwidth

It is a fact that most websites do not require lots of bandwidth but leaving a room for growth is important. Make sure you do not get locked into the particular amount of bandwidth when choosing a web hosting company and get charged additional fees when you wish to revise the hosting plan later.

“It’s always better to have more bandwidth, especially if you anticipate traffic spikes during holiday seasons or special promotions. It will vary from company to company, but I would say opting for a plan that you know you can grow into is always the best route to take,” says Luqman Khan of Wireloo, a best fitness tracking watch review website.

Don’t focus on the rate

If you are a new business owner with a low budget, you will naturally look for the lowest rate, but hosting is not something to compromise. “The cheap web hosting plans typically come with poor customer service, slow server speeds, constant downtime and a lot of headaches,” says Jake Braun of ChopperExchange, a website that helps you sell your Harley-Davidson.

You don’t know how valuable up-time is until you suffer an outage and you can’t get ahold of anyone at the host company to help. Imagine if your website was down for several days? That would be a major blow to your business.

Test customer support

When you search for web hosting companies, look for ways that let you contact the customer support services. See whether they offer quick ways to contact them with online chat, email, 24/7 phone support, etc. Now, test them. Reach out to them and see how fast they get back to you.

Look for security features

Always make sure that the web hosting company you buy the hosting from provides security like firewalls and other features in the cPanel. If you aren’t sure what to ask, talk to a representative and tell them to explain what measures are in place to protect their servers from brute force attacks and malware attacks. You want to be confident in your host before putting your website on their servers.